CVE-2026-4261
CWE-862Published: March 21, 2026· Updated: Mar 23, 2026
Official Description
The Expire Users plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.2. This is due to the plugin allowing a user to update the 'on_expire_default_to_role' meta through the 'save_extra_user_profile_fields' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to that of an administrator.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-4261 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.8.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (2)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-862)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-4261 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts